"This referral to the Law Reform Commission is really not to get softer but to five us more options. Give judges more options in sentencing," he said.

He says the Government will show how tough it is on drive-by shootings in the coming weeks.

The NSW Law Reform Commission is conducting the review.

Commission chairman James Wood says they will not be influenced by the politics.

"What we are doing is conducting an exhaustive and independent inquiry into current sentencing laws and practices and we look at it as the material emerges to us, without any direction as to what we are to do or what we are expected to do," he said.